Vucic: Serbia can't be Europe's first, last line of defence against migrants

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic

Photograph: HINA / Rade PRELIĆ / TANJUG / mm

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday that he was against setting up fences and walls but that Serbia could not be the first and last line of defence against migrants in Europe and that the EU should deal with the migrant crisis on its borders, according to the Belgrade electronic media.

"It seems I'm the only one left in Europe who is against walls and fences. Walls are not necessary and they are not a good solution for anyone but do not force us to say: Not one migrant can enter Serbia's territory," Vucic said after talks with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in Paris, where he was on a three-day visit.

The EU should deal with the migrant crisis on its borders, in Greece and Bulgaria, Vucic said, adding that his country could not be Europe's first and last line of defence.

"We are willing to accept our share of responsibility, we have shown humanity and solidarity but we will know how to protect our country."

The Serbian PM said that currently around 7,000 migrants were staying in Serbia, having no other place to go, and that as many were in Bulgaria.

He said that he expected the approach to the migrant crisis to change because migrants were no longer mothers with children from Syria and other war-torn areas but rather economic migrants from countries unaffected by war.

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